FAQ

This is not merely about the Afghani version of "American Idol," but
the effect it has on an entire country. "Afghan Star," the talent
competition on TOLO, a TV station that is monitored and at times
pressured by the government, is a raging success with a public that
comprises disparate ethnic strains in quite discrete parts of a country
that has been repeatedly fractured. Indeed, it is seen by the program's
contestants as well as by many of its viewers as a more likely path to
political unity than politics itself, which has been undeniably
divisive. Think of how TV brought the United States together in times
of tragedy. Here is shown the power of TV in a more joyous context. The
contestants in this documentary seem to be stand-ins for a political
message; with the exception of Setara, a young woman who is willing to
challenge the mores of her home district, we don't learn very much
about their individual backgrounds. The footage of the country,
however, is fascinating, both the recent views as well as those from a
few decades ago, when Afghanistan looked more like an American city of
the 50s. The film is gripping even as it educates those who may have no
familiarity with a Third World tribal culture struggling within to
resist or reclaim the push toward modernity.

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